Of Pirates and Weddings
by Silver Magiccraft
Summary: When the Strawhats land on a small island with their three new crew members,they expect a short stop. Instead they get roped into helping a budding relationship flourish,even against the odds. Of course they have to stay for the wedding too,right? HIATUS!
1. Of Islands and Caves

_Story: Of Pirates and Weddings_

_Warnings: Original Characters. Language. RP Based. **On hiatus!**  
_

_Expanded Summary: When the Strawhat Pirates land on a small island with their three new crew members, they don't plan to stay long. Maybe long enough to rest a little and restock, but no longer than that. Enter the Strawhat Pirates' need to help those they come across after meeting two lovers from feuding clans. Can the Strawhats help these young lovers? And what was that about the forest god of the island?_

_Notes: This is a story that is based off of an rp and ideas given by prompts. This was started around six months ago, and now I'm working on finishing at least of rough draft. This will probably be no more than 5 chapters long, if that. I'm going to be posting every other Friday until this is completely written. This chapter is still being edited because some areas bother me. And help in the way of constructive criticism would be much appreciated, since this is still the rough draft of the story, even with all of the editing I've done. Revised some on June 27, 2008.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, world, or plot of One Piece. I do own Silver, and have permission to use Shadow. This plot is my own creation._

**Of Pirates and Weddings**

Of Islands and Caves

They had been on the seas together with the Strawhat crew for about a month now, and things were starting to settle down. Everyone was quickly learning each other's good and bad qualities and a routine was finally being settled into. Silver couldn't be happier. Things were chaotic for the first couple of weeks on the Thousand Sunny, and she attributed it to the fact that there were three new members to the crew, as well as to the fact that the ship was also new. Trying to adjust to new crew and a new ship had to have been hard, and she sympathized with the original Strawhats since she was also adjusting to having more than one other person around.

The sun was harsh on her bare skin, but the general warmth felt good, especially considering her susceptibility to cold. They were apparently approaching a summer island, and she had stripped her jacket off to enjoy the sun. Maybe she could actually tan if she stayed in the sun for long enough, though she doubted it. Being such a quick healer was useful, but it also prevented her from things like tanning. Her cells repaired themselves almost as fast as they were damaged by the sun. Luffy chose that moment, while Silver was sitting in the sun and enjoying the rare moment of peace on the ship, to accost his crewmate. There was a moment of stunned silence before Silver started to shake the arm her captain was apparently trying to eat.

"Damn it Luffy, I don't care how hungry you are, my arm is not food!" She let out a frustrated growl when he just repositioned himself to chew on her shoulder instead. "Not my shoulder either! Damn it, stop trying to eat me!"

It was at this precise moment that Sanji walked out onto the deck to see Luffy gnawing on Silver's shoulder. In very typical Sanji fashion he immediately started to beat his captain down, lecturing him on the proper treatment of women.

At the commotion, Shadow poked her head over the side of the ship. She had been taking advantage of the built in ladder there to swim whenever she wished. The moment she realized the situation she rolled her eyes and then turned to dive back into the sea. She never did feel complete unless she was in the water, sea freak that she was.

There was a loud snore and then a snort as the fight moved towards Zoro and preceded to crash into his sleeping form. Silver had gotten to a safe spot by this point and decided to watch the scuffle. These events, though frequent, never lost their novelty.

Usopp had drawn late morning watch for today, and Robin was probably still sleeping after her early morning shift. Franky should be showing up at any time now to join the scuffle. Shortly after that, Nami would burst out of the crew quarters to knock the men into behaving while Chopper would check the men for injuries.

Silver was delighted to finally be part a large enough crew to have these kinds of dynamics. Before it had just been her and Shadow, working as a flawless team. They knew each other so well and they got along so well that there had rarely been conflicts between the two. There was a lot of banter, but it was nothing like what the Strawhat crew had. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that these weren't just one-on-one dynamics, but entire group dynamics. In any case, it sure as hell made things interesting.

Right on time, Franky dove into the fight ball. It was starting to reach the proper noise level to bring Nami storming out, followed by Chopper trying to keep injuries to a minimum--soon enough Nami was out and marching over to the scuffle in order to pound all of the men (minus Usopp and Chopper) when Usopp started shouting "Land Ho!" repeatedly until everyone heard.

Shadow climbed back onto deck and hurried to get properly dressed as Silver picked up her coat and shrugged it on before heading to wake Robin. Nami quickly took charge of the situation-shouting orders before running to get her maps. Sanji returned to his kitchen to prepare the demanded "Pirate Lunchboxes" and make sure everything was properly prepared for landfall before heading out to help the others in manning the ship.

By the time Shadow, Silver, and Robin returned to the deck the island was visible to the naked eye. They moved to their positions in preparation for Nami's orders. They should still have a while before navigation was necessary, but it paid to be prepared. Once Nami returned she assessed the situation, and decided to have them circle the island from a distance in order to find a good place to weigh anchor away from habitation. This island appeared to be small enough that this tactic was practical.

* * *

A few hours later the Strawhat crew finally found a secluded cove not too far from civilization and quickly weighed anchor in order to start resupplying. Sanji and Luffy were the first off of the ship, followed shortly by Chopper, Robin, and Nami. Silver chose to wait to see who was on watch before leaving, and thus got to leave with Zoro as his guide for the moment. Shadow and Franky waved before Shadow said something and started to change for swimming. Franky headed below decks, probably to work on some secret project of his.

Silver shrugged and turned to find Zoro gone. The bastard could have at least waited for her! Now she had to track him down. She muttered for a few moments about having to escort the bastard before actually working on tracking him. She quickly scented the area for any traces of Zoro's distinctive scent and allowed herself a brief moment to breathe in the scent of steel before following it. After a few minutes she entered a forest that was in the complete opposite direction of the town and cursed; the humidity was rising fast and she could smell ozone in the air. There'd be a summer squall soon enough, and if she didn't find Zoro now she'd have to try to find him the hard way. Rain would wash any signs of his passing away, be it scent or the more conventional signs that a tracker would use. She broke into a run and caught sight of Zoro just as it started pouring.

Zoro growled at her the moment he saw her and she flipped him the bird in response. The bastard got them lost and on top of that they were without shelter in a storm. The lightning would be starting soon, and she did not want to be without cover when it did. She may be able to survive being hit by lightning, but it hurt to the high heavens and she tried to avoid such pain when possible. Zoro would probably survive too, if hit, just to spite her. With those swords of his he'd make a pretty target for a lightning strike, even with his swords sheathed. It's serve him right if he got fried.

Silver grabbed Zoro's arm and ran toward the line of cliffs in the distance. There might be a decent sized cave for them to hole up in, and for once she was too pissed to try to work Zoro up as she normally would in such a situation. She'd get him in bed eventually after all, and maybe if she didn't press buttons for once he'd stop avoiding her. The fact that he had been avidly avoiding her recently had made it hard for her to subtly try to get his interest. The man was damnably hard to pursue, since he generally ran in the opposite direction of any interested female. Hell, she was starting to think the bastard was asexual with the way he acted. Maybe he was just shy...?

Being slammed to the ground under the object of her thoughts brought Silver out of the haze she'd been in. She was slightly confused, and she couldn't really see anything beyond Zoro's chest. It was a very nice chest, but the fact that she'd hit the ground hard was making her a little less forgiving than she'd normally be in such a position.

"What the hell you bastard? Get the fuck off of me!" Zoro shifted enough that she could breathe normally again; the said bastard was heavy and sort of crushing her after all. Her tone softened as she noticed his tension, and the way he continued to cover her completely. She couldn't have been so far gone as to miss an enemy attack, right? "What's the matter Zoro?"

"I'm not sure. Felt something coming at us, but I don't see or sense anything now. I was sure something was coming at you, and fast." Zoro's words startled the woman under him, and she shifted to full alert. Apparently she'd been out of it enough to not sense hostile action, which was very, very bad. She mentally shamed herself while keeping alert. They waited silently for a few minutes before Silver spoke up again.

"Whatever that was it seems to be gone for the moment. Even if it's not I think we need cover even more than before. Let's find a cave to hole up in until this storm blows over, and then we can figure our way back to the Sunny. If something weird is going on we need to warn everyone else too."

At Silver's words Zoro shifted off of her and offered her a hand up. She took it, and then proceeded to lead the swordsman to a cave that offered decent shelter from the storm, though she had to frequently backtrack to drag him back on course. She was stuck with the man with the world's worst sense of direction, after all. Once inside of the cave Silver stripped her coat off, and tried to wring the water out of her hair. Having long hair sucked when it was wet and even with her clothing being made of waterproof leather she was still soaked. The water had run down ever opening in her clothing, and she was cursing the revealing outfit she wore. She very much wished she had changed into more easy-going clothing from her normal all leather gear, since damp and leather make for a very uncomfortable situation. Done wringing her hair of all the water she could get out, she settled against the cave wall next to Zoro. She was wet and cold, and heat was radiating off of him in waves. She shifted closer and muttered something about the cold when he glared.

At some point Silver must have dozed off, because when she woke she was curled against the swordsman with his arm wrapped around her. He must have fallen asleep as well--otherwise he wouldn't be caught dead in such a position. She smiled softly, amused at his snoring, and craned her neck around to see if it was still raining. Noting it that it was still pouring, she settled further into Zoro's side and drifted back to sleep.


	2. Of Feuding Clans and Love

_Title: Of Pirates and Weddings_

_Warnings: OCs and language. **On hiatus!**  
_

_Notes: This was written on May 24, 2008 and June 13, 2008. I cannot stress enough that this is a rough draft. In fact, it's more of a rough draft of the rough draft. I'm posting this because it forces me to write and because I do hope someone will review and tell be where I'm way off and maybe how to fix it. (This chapter is horrible, just so you know. My characterization is so off.) The majority of this chapter is filler. I needed to get from point A to point B and had no idea of how to get there, so forgive the areas that seem forced. Revised somewhat on June 27, 2008._

_Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece-its characters, world, or plot. Silver and the plot of this side story are mine. Shadow belongs to her respective owner, and I have permission to use her._

Of Pirates and Weddings

Of Feuding Clans and Love

It was the sun that woke Silver the next morning. All signs of the summer storm that had forced Zoro and her to find shelter the previous afternoon were gone. Coming completely awake in an instant (how had she slept through the end of the storm?), Silver found herself in an awkward position. Oh, it was one she'd kill to wake up in every day, but at this point in her relationship with Zoro it was just awkward. He probably wouldn't speak to her for days! Slowly but surely, Silver extracted herself from Zoro's lap. How she'd ended up in his lap and in his arms she'd never know. She remembered nestling into his side the night before, with one of his arms around her, and she ended up in a completely different position. Luckily she was able to get off his lap before he woke (for all his napping the bastard was a light sleeper), but she remained in his arms. Zoro tensed the moment he woke completely, and Silver winced. He was going to be so mad!

"Oi, Silver. You awake?" She tensed and nodded into his shoulder. "Good. It's morning and we need to head back before they send out a search party or do something stupid."

Silver stretched as he released her, and watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye. That was odd. He had sounded almost gentle. After they cut off any rescue attempts she'd look into that further, but for now she just grabbed her jacket and followed Zoro out of the cave. The morning air was brisk, and beyond the scent of pine that permeated the air was the distinct scent of hay and manure. Horses meant a farm or stables of some sort, and that meant people. Maybe she could get directions there. It was times like these that Silver was very glad of being female. She could at least ask for directions, unlike most men who found asking directions some sort of insult to their pride.

Waving Zoro over, she quickly told him her plan and started in the direction of habitation with him following. After about thirty minutes of walking, they ran into the edge of a pasture. There was a good sized herd of horses grazing in the early morning light. There was also what looked to be a field of some sort near the pasture. The people here probably grew the feed for their horses themselves, rather than buying it from another farmer. There was a large ranch house beyond the pasture, and a barn and stables near that. All together it made for a large complex. The people here were most likely breeders, and from what she could see of the buildings very wealthy ones at that.

They approached the ranch house first, hoping to run into someone along the way. As they passed the barn a worker walked out, and nearly crashed into Zoro. Silver yanked Zoro back quickly and just in time to avoid a collision with the worker who was carrying a hay bale.

"Sorry about my friend here. We're hoping you can direct us back to town. I had to follow after this idiot and we got lost." Silver threw her most charming smile at the young man, ignoring Zoro's protest at being called an idiot.

He looked between the two of them, and where Silver gripped Zoro's arm multiple times, as if unsure of what to make of the situation. Eventually the young man smiled hesitantly back at her, and proceeded to direct her back to town. She thanked him and dragged Zoro behind her as she left, hoping to keep the man from being scolded for slacking off. She seemed to be successful, but kept her grip on Zoro just in case. The idiot would probably walk straight off of the path and back into the woods otherwise. Zoro, of course, protested her grip on his wrist, and Silver paused just long enough to change her grip to his hand instead, doing her best to ignore what the gesture would look like; she really did need to keep a grip on him, and so what if it looked couple-like. They weren't a couple. Silver was not going down that path anytime soon. Too many people she'd cared about had died because of her; hell, she only wanted to get the bastard in bed, not do any of that other shit.

* * *

After an hour or so they came across the cove where Sunny had been docked, and quickly made their way to the ship. There was a shout from Usopp who was apparently on watch at the moment, and they were soon surrounded by the rest of the crew. Silver released Zoro and waved off all of the questions. She was hungry, and said so. Sanji guided her to the galley while berating Zoro for not taking proper care of one of his delicate ladies. Shadow snorted in the background and Silver shot her a glare.

Between bites Silver explained events the events that lead to the two of them being trapped in a cave to wait out the storm. "There was also something in the forest-I can't believe I almost forgot. Zoro sensed it for an instant, and it seemed to be hostile. I'm not sure what to make of it, since I was distracted at the time so I didn't feel it. I'd try not to go into the forest alone though. I have no idea what it could have been." She quickly finished narrating events and asked after the others.

"Luffy got us lost. I can't believe I got stuck with the moron! We met this really cute couple though. They're from different clans, and their families hate each other. Sarah and Ryan seemed to be completely in love too. I just can't believe their families are keeping them apart because of a centuries old feud! Plus, they looked like old-blood families. That means money! Maybe we'd get a reward for helping them..." Nami seemed annoyed by the situation, but mainly concerned with way of getting money out of the couple. Luffy nodded along emphatically while she spoke of the couple's stife, and Franky, Usopp, and Chopper seemed touched by the trials the young lovers must face to be together.

"I wonder what caused the feud. Maybe their clans have been assassinating members of the opposing clan for centuries…" Robins pondering seemed to horrify some of the other crew members, while Silver and Shadow stifled laughter. It was true, but the way Robin said things like that was always amusing.

"So how much longer are we here for, anyway? I know Zoro and I haven't been to town, and Franky and Shadow haven't either unless they went after Zoro got both of us lost, and I would like to see town. Maybe this young couple could show us around?"

"It's your own fault for following me woman! No one forced you to come after me." Zoro slammed upwards to glower at her from across the table.

"Zoro, you have no sense of direction. We'd have never found you again without a search party. It's not my fault that I wanted to save everyone else the trouble of going after your sorry ass!" Silver glared at him and stood as well. She also might have slid into a defensive stance.

"Okay! Silver, Zoro please play nice. That storm is the reason you were both lost, and it's no use fighting about it, okay? We still need to get some more supplies and I haven't been to town either, okay? So why don't we go together Silv?" Shadow, when not pouring fuel onto the fire, was actually fairly good at diffusing the fights between Zoro and Silver. In fact, she'd been forced to intervene multiple times in the last few days, mainly because a physical fight inside was bad for the ship. Grinning at Silver she muttered, "You got lost!" in a sing-song way.

Silver nodded without breaking eye contact with Zoro. "That'd be nice. It's been a while since we've gotten a chance to have a day on the town." She broke eye contact to grin at Shadow as they both exclaimed, "Shopping!" at the same time. While still looking at Shadow she added in a quiet murmer, "At least I don't get us lost, or have us going in circles unless there's an outside factor. Remember Before, when you had me going in circles in the town you lived in?" She switched back to a more audible tone to ask Luffy, "Captain, do we have shore leave?"

Luffy looked confused at Silver's question, so she simplified it. He gave them permission with a grin, still looking a bit like he didn't understand why they were asking. Silver shook her head and hid a small smile while moving off to change. Once in a while regular clothing was preferable. It'd probably help her blend in and get better prices when bartering with women, though it was quickly destroyed with her style of fighting. Blood stains and multiple large tears tended to ruin her regular clothing when she fought in it, even with Shadows abilities with needle and thread.

* * *

Silver and Shadow met up on the edge of town, and both grinned at each other before practically skipping into town. They really hadn't had a day on the town in ages, and they rarely had time to talk with just the two of them. The Sunny was large, and they did all have their own cabins with decent room within (really their cabins were about the size of two normal cabins put together). They had, of course, gotten together practically every night to chat in one or another's cabins, but it wasn't nearly the same as what they had before joining the crew, since interruptions were matter of course with the Strawhats.

Silver quickly told Shadow about the previous evening and about how she had woken up that morning. She then had to stop to look back at Shadow who had stopped and was now gaping at her.

"It's true! I woke up on his lap and in his arms. I almost went back to sleep too, because it was so comfortable, but then I woke up completely and realized our position. The weirdest part is that he actually sounded nice when he asked me if I was awake. I think it was just because he was only half awake himself. He's never been kind to me before, so it was sort of strange hearing that kind of tone. He sounded sort of like when he speaks to Chopper or Luffy, you know? I really wasn't expecting him to speak to me with that sort of tone ever. Well, maybe in the distant future, but it'd be really, really distant."

Shadow nodded and resumed walking. They changed topics and chatted for a while about the antics of some of their nakama while window shopping. Soon enough they both saw things that they wanted in the same shop and went in. They were greeted immediately by a kind looking blonde with a gentle voice. Silver and Shadow greeted her back and went to browse. Within a few minutes they both had some odd and ends picked out that they had taken a liking to.

As Silver paid for her purchases, she asked for the woman's name. The soft spoken woman answered with the name Sarah, and Silver paused for a moment before smiling kindly at the woman. "You wouldn't happen to be dating someone named Ryan, would you?" The woman looked startled and quickly looked around before hesitantly nodding her head in the positive. Shadow shot Silver a look and then they both turned to shoot grins at Sarah.

"You met our captain and navigator yesterday. They told us about the two of you. Maybe when you get a break we could have a cup of coffee and you could tell us about it?" Shadow made sure to look as innocent and harmless as possible, with just a hint of friendly concern. Silver smiled softly and let the kindness that she normally kept from creeping into her eyes seep in.

Sarah looked between the two of them for a few minutes before nodding. "I have lunch in about two hours if you wouldn't mind waiting. There's a small café that I go to with Ryan. The workers and regulars keep our secret. We could talk there without having to worry about someone overhearing." She gave them directions after they gave affirmative answers.

As Silver and Shadow exited the shop they both shot glances back at Sarah. She smiled softly at them before turning back to her work. Silver frowned for a moment before noticing that Shadow was doing the same.

"I have this odd feeling that we're going to end up helping the two of them get together. I am a bounty hunter, not a matchmaker. Wait. I'm a pirate now, aren't I? That means even less matchmaking." Silver sighed and shook her head. She didn't get involved in these things as a rule, and now she felt that there wasn't much of a chance of not being sucked in. Sarah seemed like such a gentle soul. She deserved happiness.

"I know you don't do matchmaking, but I do think we'll end up helping them. Nami and Luffy seemed to like them, and Robin seemed interested in the history of the feud. And I happen to like to matchmaking. Think of the romance! They're like Romeo and Juliet, just without the tragic ending--at least not yet." Shadow grinned suddenly, and then bolted toward the ship. Silver sighed before following at a slower pace. She just knew she'd be sighing a lot in the next few days.

* * *

_Ending Notes: Sorry, I try not to have these, but I couldn't explain that first paragraph in the beginning notes. What happened there was that Zoro woke up at some point during the night to Silver's violent shaking (the woman is nearly immortal, but very weak to the cold). He noticed her lips were turning blue, and while he doesn't quite trust her yet she's still nakama--thus her being pulled into his lap and arms._


End file.
